Objective Analysis of Vocal Warm-Up with Special Reference to Ergonomic Factors

Vocal warm-up was studied in terms of changes in voice parameters during a 45-minute vocal loading session in the morning. The voices of a randomly chosen group of 40 female and 40 male young students were loaded by having them read a novel aloud. The exposure groups (5 females and 5 males per cell) consisted of eight combinations of the following factors: (1) low (25 +/- 5%) or high (65 +/- 5%) relative humidity of ambient air; (2) low [< 65 dB(SPL)] or high [> 65 dB(SPL)] speech output level during vocal loading; (3) sitting or standing posture during vocal loading. Two sets of voice samples were recorded: a resting sample before the loading session and a loading sample after the loading session. The material recorded consisted of /pa:ppa/ words produced normally, as softly and as loudly as possible in this order by all subjects. The long /a/ vowel of the test word was inverse-filtered to obtain the glottal flow waveform. Time domain parameters of the glottal flow [open quotient (OQ), closing quotient (CQ), speed quotient (SQ), fundamental frequency (F0)], amplitude domain parameters of the glottal flow [glottal flow (fAC) and its logarithm, minimum of the first derivative of the glottal flow (dpeak) and its logarithm, amplitude quotient (AQ), and a new parameter, CQAQ], intraoral pressure (p), and sound pressure level (SPL) values of the phonations were analyzed. Voice range profiles (VRP) and the singer's formant (g/G, a/A, cl/c, e1/e, g1/g for females/males) of the loud phonation were also measured. Statistically significant differences between the preloading and postloading samples could be seen in many parameters, but the differences depended on gender and the type of phonation. In females the values of CQ, AQ, and CQAQ decreased and the values of SQ and p increased in normal phonations; the values of fAC, dpeak, and SPL increased in soft phonations; the values of AQ and CQAQ decreased in loud phonations; the harmonic energy in the singer's formant region increased significantly at every pitch. In males the values of OQ and AQ decreased and the values of dpeak, F0, p, and SPL increased in normal phonations; the values of fAC and p increased in soft phonations. The changes could be interpreted as signs of a shift toward hyperfunctional voice production. Low humidity was associated with more hyperfunctional changes than high humidity. High output was associated with more hyperfunctional changes than low output. Sitting position was associated with an increasing trend at both margins of male VRP, whereas the case was the opposite for standing position.     

On optimal stopping of multidimensional diffusions

This paper develops an approach for solving perpetual discounted optimal stopping problems for multidimensional diffusions, with special emphasis on the $d$-dimensional Wiener process. We first obtain some verification theorems for diffusions, based on the Green kernel representation of the value function. Specializing to the multidimensional Wiener process, we apply the Martin boundary theory to obtain a set of tractable integral equations involving only harmonic functions that characterize the stopping region of the problem in the bounded case. The approach is illustrated through the optimal stopping problem of a $d$-dimensional Wiener process with a positive definite quadratic form reward function.     

On hitting times of affine boundaries by reflecting Brownian motion and Bessel processes

Firstly, we compute the distribution function for the hitting time of a linear time-dependent boundary t ↦ a + bt, a ≥ 0, b ∈ ℝ, by a reflecting Brownian motion. The main tool hereby is Doob’s formula which gives the probability that Brownian motion started inside a wedge does not hit this wedge. Other key ingredients are the time inversion property of Brownian motion and the time reversal property of diffusion bridges. Secondly, this methodology can also be applied for the three-dimensional Bessel process. Thirdly, we consider Bessel bridges from 0 to 0 with dimension parameter δ > 0 and show that the probability that such a Bessel bridge crosses an affine boundary is equal to the probability that this Bessel bridge stays below some fixed value.     

Separation and identification of neutral cereal lipids by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography,using evaporative light-scattering and electrospray mass spectrometry for detection

A novel method was developed for the analysis of molecular species in neutral lipid classes, using separation by normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography, followed by detection by evaporative light-scattering and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Monoacid standards, i.e. sterol esters, triacylglycerols, fatty acids, diacylglycerols, free sterols and monoacylglycerols, were separated to baseline on microbore 3 μm-silica gel columns. Complete or partial separation of molecular species in each lipid class permitted identification by automatic tandem mass spectrometry of ammonium adducts, produced via positive electrospray ionization. After optimization of the method, separation and identification of molecular species of various lipid classes was comprehensively tested by analysis of neutral lipids from the free lipid extract of maize flour.     

Conversational quality evaluation of artificial bandwidth extension of telephone speech

Artificial bandwidth extension methods have been developed to improve the quality and intelligibility of narrowband telephone speech and to reduce the difference with wideband speech. Such methods have commonly been evaluated with objective measures or subjective listening-only tests, but conversational evaluations have been rare. This article presents a conversational evaluation of two methods for the artificial bandwidth extension of telephone speech. Bandwidth-extended narrowband speech is compared with narrowband and wideband speech in a test setting including a simulated telephone connection, realistic conversation tasks, and various background noise conditions. The responses of the subjects indicate that speech processed with one of the methods is preferred to narrowband speech in noise, but wideband speech is superior to both narrowband and bandwidth-extended speech. Bandwidth extension was found to be beneficial for telephone conversation in noisy listening conditions.     

Disentangling the effects of phonation and articulation: Hemispheric asymmetries in the auditory N1m response of the human brain

Background  

The cortical activity underlying the perception of vowel identity has typically been addressed by manipulating the first and second formant frequency (F1 & F2) of the speech stimuli. These two values, originating from articulation, are already sufficient for the phonetic characterization of vowel category. In the present study, we investigated how the spectral cues caused by articulation are reflected in cortical speech processing when combined with phonation, the other major part of speech production manifested as the fundamental frequency (F0) and its harmonic integer multiples. To study the combined effects of articulation and phonation we presented vowels with either high (/a/) or low (/u/) formant frequencies which were driven by three different types of excitation: a natural periodic pulseform reflecting the vibration of the vocal folds, an aperiodic noise excitation, or a tonal waveform. The auditory N1m response was recorded with whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) from ten human subjects in order to resolve whether brain events reflecting articulation and phonation are specific to the left or right hemisphere of the human brain.     

Conformational Analysis. XIX properties and reactions of 1,3-oxathianes VIII A 1H NMR conformational study of methyl-substituted derivatives

The addition of thioacetic acid to unsaturated alcohols or acids was utilized to obtain mercaptoalkanols which were condensed with suitable carybonyl compounds to prepare 24 methyl-substituted 1,3-oxathianes. The ¹H NMR spectra of the 1,3-oxathiane products were recorded at 60, 100 and/or 300 MHz and fully analysed. The results are best explained by a chair form which is completely staggered in the C-4? C-5? C-6 moiety ψ₄₅ or (ψ₅₆=60±1°). 1,3-Oxathianes having syn-axial 2,4- (and/or 2,6-) methyl-methyl interactions exist appreciably, if not exclusively, in twist forms. The vicinal coupling constants lead to the conformational free energies of axial methyl groups at C-4, ΔG°=7.4±0.4 kJ mol^?1, and at C-5, ΔG°=3.7±0.3 kJ mol^?1, in good agreement with previous estimates. They also show that both r-4,cis-5,trans-6- and r-4,trans-5,trans-6- trimethyl-1,3-oxathianes greatly favour the chiar form where the methyl group at C-4 is axial. The chair-twist energy parameters are reestimated at ΔH°_CT 27.0 kJ mol^?1, ΔS°_CT 11.6J mol^?1K^?1, and ΔG°_CT(298) 23.5 kJ mol^?1 for a 2,5-twist form.     

Complete assignment of the carbon-13 NMR spectrum of chlorophyl a

The ¹³C NMR spectrum (at natural abundance) of monomeric chlorophyll α in acetone-d₆ has been recorded to re-examine the assignments of the low field (aromatic-olefinic) region of the spectrum. The assignments, made by the examination of the fully coupled spectrum and by the use of long-range selective ¹H decoupling (LSPD) with low-power irradiation, were compared with those of the previous reports. The results of the present work clarify the ambiguities previously encountered in the assignment of the 10a-ester, 7c-propionyl, P-2-phytyl, 2b-vinyl, γ- and β-methine carbon atoms, as well as the β-pyrrolic carbon-6 and α-pyrrolic carbons ?16 and ?17 of chlorophyll α. Reassignment of the three last carbons was found necessary. Knowledge of the chemical shifts of these carbon atoms was considered to be particularly valuable, as it yields relevant information on the delocalized π electron system which is crucial for the function of chlorophyll in photosynthesis.     

Infrared evolved gas analysis during thermal investigation of lanthanum, europium and samarium carbonates

The characterisation of rare earth elements carbonates (REECs) was performed by thermal analysis (TG-DTG) combined with simultaneous infrared evolved gas analysis-Fourier transform infrared (EGA-FTIR) spectroscopy. The TG-DTG curves were obtained using the Perkin-Elmer PC series TGA-7 thermogravimetric analyser in the temperature range 25-800 °C both in dynamic air and nitrogen atmosphere.La₂(CO₃)₃·nH₂O, Eu₂(CO₃)₃·nH₂O and Sm₂(CO₃)₃·nH₂O were analysed, the dehydration and decarbonation steps were investigated and the water content was calculated. The trace rare earth elements in lanthanum, europium and samarium carbonates were determined by Philips PU 7000 inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and the concentration of REE ranged from 6.2×10⁻⁵ to 4.2×10⁻⁴% (w/w).